Undergraduate
The U.S. Bachelor's degree
One of the most attractive features of the bachelor’s degree program in the United States is that it is highly flexible. You can usually choose from a wide variety of courses and create your own unique program of study. The degree is awarded after you complete a specified number of credits, which are usually completed in four years of full-time study. The first year is called the freshman year; the second is called sophomore; the third, junior; and the fourth, senior.
Academic Calendar
The academic year will be slightly different for each university or college but normally runs from early September to the end of May. It may be divided into two terms of 18 weeks called “semesters.” Alternatively, the university may have “quarters” or “trimesters,” which are about 12 weeks in length. In addition, universities very often provide six- to eight-week summer terms. There are at least two main holidays during the academic year: a two- to four-week break over Christmastime and a one-week “spring break” sometime between early March and mid-April.
The Credit System
Students at American universities complete their degrees when they have accumulated a certain number of “credits.” It usually takes somewhere between 130 and 180 credits to graduate. Sometimes the terms “semester/ quarter hours” or “units” are used instead of credits. Each individual course you take each semester earns a specified number (usually three or four) of credits/hours/units.
Grades
100 – 90% = A
89 – 80% = B
79 – 70% = C
69 – 60% = D
59 – 50% = E
49 – 0% = F
What Is a GPA?
Each student completes his or her degree with a grade point average (GPA). A cumulative grade point average is the GPA for all courses taken throughout the degree program. Most universities use a GPA scale of 4.0, but a few universities use a scale of 5.0.